Of thieves and assassins
by Evilkat23
Summary: The dragonborn died by Mercer's hand. Swearing vengeance, the dark brotherhood will avenge their fallen Listener.
1. Chapter 1

Cicero hummed happily to himself as he danced in place, the snow fluttering around him. He was waiting patiently outside of the Snow Veil Sanctum for the listener to return. The listener had to go and be off with the leader of the thieves, Cicero never understood thieves, stealing something off of a person before they die? That was just madness. Chuckling to himself, Cicero perked up at the sound of the door to the sanctum opening. Practically jogging up to the edge of the sanctum, he peered down and watched as the thieves guild leader emerged and shut the door behind him. Not paying Cicero any attention, the man walked up the stairs, Cicero waited for the Listener to come out, but, she didn't.

The jester watched as the leader of the guild walked out of site, Cicero almost wanted to run up to the man and demand to know where the listener was. But, he promised the listener that he would stay right where he was. After a while, the sun started to set, turning the sky a bloody orange color. Puffing his cheeks out, Cicero kicked a bit of the snow with his foot. The sun continued to get lower and lower until the sky turned as black as the dark brotherhood armor. Huffing, Cicero started to grow impatient, the listener has yet to come out, the listener could be dead. He had to check.

Going against the listener, Cicero walked inside the sanctum.

"Listener?" Cicero whispered, he looked around, passing dead draugr, Cicero kept his weapon sheathed as he walked. "Listener? I know you told Cicero to wait, and yes, I said I would wait until spiders would consume my flesh. I'm just concerned for the listener." The jester continued to whisper, has the Listener been harmed? Was she unable to move?

Kicking a few dead draugr out of his way, Cicero kept on walking forward, walking up a bit of stairs, he opened a door and looked around. It was the same as before, nothing but dead draugr.

"Dirty draugr..." Cicero grumbled as he continued to shuffle passed the dead. Walking down a hallway, he sensed a presence not of his own or the listener. Narrowing his eyes, he put his hands on his dagger and unsheathed it, walking into the room at the end of the hall, Cicero raised his weapon, prepared to strike down whoever was there.

He stopped when he noticed the listener on the ground, unmoving, blood had pooled around her body from an open wound on her side, made from a sword, no doubt.

"Listener?" Cicero whispered softly, as he gotten down to one knee, the jester started to slowly move the listener on to her back. Removing the mask from her face, Cicero knew she was dead. Her face ashen and gray, her eyes were shut, and her mouth hung open slightly. Cicero felt his mouth jerk a bit to the side, he had seen dark brotherhood members die before, yet, seeing the listener...The sweet, sweet listener who had allowed him to live, the listener who let Cicero follow her allow on many adventures, the strong and noble listener, lay broken and dead in her own bodily fluids. It made Cicero feel sad and angry. He didn't know if he should weep over the Listener's body, or hunt down the one who did this.

Cicero knew who did it. Cicero knew it was the thieves guild leader! The way he just walked out of the sanctum! If he was a loyal follower to the listener then he wouldn't of left her alone in a sanctum for the skeevers to eat! Oh, the skeevers were going to eat, but, not on the listener! Cicero will make sure that the skeevers will eat on the thieves leader's flesh!

Grinding his teeth, Cicero shut his eyes and looked down at the dead listener.

"...Don't worry, Listener, Cicero will give that man what is coming. Nobody crosses the dark brotherhood and think they can get away with it!"

_Ok, short chapter is short. I know, I know, Short chapter is rather painfully short, actually. But, I promise you, chapter two will be much longer. Anyway, this idea came as I was finishing up the thieves guild quest, I had Cicero following me around, when a thought struck me. What if I had actually died by Mercer's hand? Would Cicero find me? (I had him wait outside since he couldn't be with me) Would the dark brotherhood go after the thieves guild? would they come together to stop Mercer? and thus, this story was born! _


	2. Chapter 2

"...She looked so peaceful." Babette said with a laugh, Nazir chuckled at her and shook his head.

"Babette, my girl, you never cease to amaze me." He complimented her, getting up from his seat, he walked over towards the cooking pot and started to stir the stew. Babette turned, about to leave the redguard alone, then it happened, Cicero came running in, in such a way that it made both Nazir and Babette stop what they were doing and look at the jester.

Then, he started yelling, that got the Initiates attention, it made them run into the main room and look at the jester. He was screaming at the top of his lungs, Nazir stood there shaking his head from side to side, trying to make sense of what the fool was yelling about. He could only make out a couple of words, listener and thieves stood out the most.

"By Sithis. calm down you fool." Nazir growled after a few seconds, if anything, that made the jester even crazier. Yet, he was still able to say one clear sentence, a sentence that made everyone listening just freeze.

"CICERO CANNOT BE CALM! NOT WHEN THE LISTENER IS DEAD!"

Nobody could say anything, everyone just fell quiet. Babette had to sit down, Nazir looked emotionless, but, he shook his head all the same. The Initiates just shared a look with each other then looked back at the Jester, who was still ranting and raving loudly. After a few more seconds of Cicero screaming, Narzir narrowed his eyes at the jester and walked up to Cicero.

"How did she die?! Did you kill her you cazy-" Before Nazir could finish his sentence, Cicero cut him off with a loud gasp.

"It was not I! Nazir! It was the thieves guild! They betrayed her!" He yelled at Nazir, the redguard let out a soft growl, before he could call Cicero out on it, Babette spoke up.

"The thieves guild doesn't kill." The vampire said to Cicero, the jester scowled at Babette for a few seconds.

"It's true! The leader of the guild lead her to a sanctum and killed her! Plunged his sword right in to her stomach!" Cicero screamed back at the vampire.

"Did you see it happen?" Nazir questioned him, Cicero went quiet for a few seconds and scratched his face a bit.

"Ah, um, well...No, the listener told Cicero to stay outside. But, the leader of the thieves guild walked out like it was nothing! Didn't even seemed slightly concerned! He didn't even try to help her!" Cicero yelled, Nazir and Babette shared a look with each other then both sighed.

"It does seem suspicious, I mean, the listener is perhaps the strongest I know, and for her to be found dead..." Babette said, Nazir crossed his arms, he looked at Cicero again and let out a soft growl.

"Are you sure it was the thieves guild leader?" Nazir asked Cicero, the man nodded vigorously.

"Oh yes! the Armor was unmistakable!"

There was a silence between everyone one, not even Cicero spoke for those few seconds of silence.

"Nazir, what are we going to do, I mean, we can't just let this slide. She's our family!"

"I say we gut those retched thieves like the dogs they are!" Cicero screamed out, not much to Nazir's surprise the initiates seem to agree with the crazy jester. Nazir let out a soft noise and then shook his head.

"I feel like we need to search into this just a little bit more, like Babette said, the thieves guild doesn't kill, it just seems highly unlikely that they would just betray her like that." Nazir told them, the female initiative let out a scoff and crossed her arms.

"You think they care about that? They're thieves, they only care about one thing, money. If I remember correctly, the listener had a bad habit of carrying all of her gold with her, whose to say that the man she was with didn't want that gold for himself?" The female challenged Nazir, Babette looked at the redguard and gave a slight nod.

"She's right, Nazir, I bet that's exactly what happened, he lead her there and stabbed her in the back when she wasn't looking." She muttered darkly, the others were quick to agree with her, even Cicero seemed to be agreeing with her. Nazir let out a sigh, it did seem like that would be how the scenario played out the best, the listener was always a bit too trusting when it came to helping people out. Maybe a part of Nazir didn't want to believe that a guild that didn't kill would kill one of their own.

"I'm with Cicero on this one. Lets go down to Riften and show those dogs what happens when you mess with one of our own!" The male initiate growled darkly, already taking out his weapon. The female initiate nodded and took out her own weapon, Babette seemed eager to join into the fight as well, jumping from her seat the vampire smiled showing her fangs.

"Whoa now, hold on." Nazir growled at them, bringing his arms up signaling them all to stop. "As much as I would like to see our listener's killer to feel the wrath of Sithis, we have to think about this. Does anybody even know were the thieves in Riften?" He asked them, naturally Cicero spoke up.

"Of course! They're held up in the ratway! In the sewers of Riften. The listener has taken Cicero there many times. Their main base is behind a false panel." Cicero told Nazir, the redguard let out a sigh of slight defeat, there was nothing more he could say this point. They have a motive for the murder of their listener, and, they knew just were to go. Turning to the initiates, Nazir sighed one last time.

"Alright, alright. the thing is, we cannot leave the sanctuary unattended, so you two will stay here." He told the two initiates, the two of them looked a bit dejected at the fact that they wouldn't be part of the action, but, they agreed to it anyway. Nazir turned to Babette and Cicero, stroking his beard, Nazir looked at the two of them. "That means it's just us three, we'll take a carriage to Riften, then when we get there, Cicero will have to lead us towards the ratway. Seeing as he's been there more times than any of us have." the redguard said to the two of them, Cicero did a little dance of joy at hearing that he would be leading.

"Oh yes! Cicero will be a great leader! Cicero remembers every twist and turn of the ratway!" Cicero gleefully said, Nazir let out a slight groan at the dance that the jester was doing, already regretting his decision to let the jester lead. Babette put one hand on her hip and looked at Nazir.

"But, Nazir, there isn't a carriage around here for miles. How are we going to get to Riften?" The child asked Nazir, after a few minutes, Nazir smiled and snapped his fingers.

"The Khajiit caravan of course, they travel to Riften all the time."

"I'm pretty sure they'll say no when we ask them." Babette pointed out, Nazir smile turned sinister as he looked at the vampire before him. He then said,

"Who said anything about asking?"


	3. Chapter 3

Brynjolf dipped his hand into the cool water below him, Mercer and the Lass had yet to return from their quest to find Kharaliah. He shouldn't be too worried, the Lass was perhaps the strongest thief he knew, and Mercer was the leader, both were strong in their own way, yet, Brynjolf felt worried for some reason. Bringing his hand out of the water, the blonde man shook the excess water off and let out a sigh. Turning around, he almost ran right into Delvin.

"What are you doing outside of the flagon?" Brynjolf found himself asking the other man.

"We got ourselves a bit of a problem in the flagon, three newcomers came in, they don't look welcoming. In fact, one of them is that crazy guy that hangs around with the lass."

"Lass wasn't with him?" Brynjolf found himself asking, Delvin shook his head, for some reason, that made Brynjolf's stomach drop a bit. He the focused on the main issue at hand.

"What did these people want?" He asked Delvin, he got a shrug in response.

"Don't know, didn't ask, I just thought I give you a fair warning."

"On what?"

"These people, they're the dark brotherhood."

Almost everyone in the guild seem to stop the moment Delvin said that. The only sound that could be heard though out the guild was the sound of the water running around them.

"The dark brotherhood?...Delvin...are you sure?" Brynjolf asked him, breaking the silence.

"Aye. I know dark brotherhood members when I see them."

"Shor's bones..." Brynjolf breathed out in slight surprise, a few other of the thieves gasped, while others took out their weapons, getting ready for a fight.

"Brynjolf, what do we do? Do we attack them?" Vipir asked the blonde man, there was another uncomfortable silence that followed as Brynjolf paused to think it over. After a couple of seconds, he shook his head.

"No, we won't attack unless they attack us. We should talk to them, they have to be here for a reason."

"I'll tell you the reason, Brynjolf, we're thieves, we obvious rubbed someone the wrong way and now they want all of us dead!" Sapphire growled, others nodded in agreement, a mummer ran around the place, Brynjolf put his hands up signaling everyone to quiet down. Once it was quiet enough, he spoke.

"Look, there are more of us then there are them. If they try anything, then we can over take them."

Delvin quickly scoffed at Brynjolf's words, making all of the attention turn on him.

"You forget, Brynjolf, the dark brotherhood killed the emperor, as well as the Penitus Oculatus, they may be out numbered, but, I don't doubt that if it comes to it, they will win." Delvin said, he then added, "It'd be more easier to turn back the tide, than it is to fight with the dark brotherhood."

A few of the guild membered looked at each other and tossed uneasy glances at one another, after a few seconds of silence, the door to the guild open, without hesitating, Brynjolf unsheathed his weapon, as well as the rest of the guild.

The first thing to greet the thieves was a jester, this jester had Vex in front him, one arm pinned behind her back, a knife to her throat, forcing her to walk forward. Behind this jester, was a redguard and a child of all things. Holding Vex hostage wasn't what really unsettled Brynjolf, it was the fact that these three characters were coated in blood.

"Alright...Lets just talk this out...Just let Vex go, and we can settle whatever problem you guys have with us peacefully." Brynjolf said, the jester, whom Brynjolf has seen hanging around the Lass, but can't remember his name, just let out a bitter scoff. Before the jester could speak, the redguard did, stepping up to Brynjolf. The assassin spoke, loud and clear so everyone could hear him.

"Listen up! One of our own is dead, we know that her death was caused by your leader. Tell us where your leader is, then we will leave the rest of you alone!" He yelled out at them, there was a slight silence. All the other thieves looked at each other, then at the assassin. Taking a deep breath, Brynjolf spoke up.

"That's not our way, we don't kill. Mercer wouldn't kill your...listener?...Unless your listener would of provoked him, that is." Brynjolf growled at the redguard, before he could speak up, the jester cut him off, pressing his knife closer to Vex's neck.

"Our Listener was with your leader! Hunting an ex-thief! I found her dead! Your leader killed her!" The jester screamed in, all the thieves looked at each other for a few seconds as the assassin's words slowly sank in.

"The lass is dead?" Brynjolf asked, breaking the icy silence that had gripped the thieves guild, Delvin looked down and let out a sigh, a couple of the others around did the same. Seeing they're reactions, the child and the redguard stared at each other and back to the thieves. Letting out a soft sigh, the redguard spoke to the jester.

"Let her go, Cicero."

The jester let out a soft noise, hesitated, then complied, bringing his blade off of Vex's neck, the jester, Cicero, then proceeded to push Vex towards Brynjolf. Quickly, the blonde man grabbed Vex, who in turn, jerked her arm out of his grip and took out her weapon.

"That's your final mistake! I'll teach you-" Vex started with a deep growl, but, was quickly cut off by Brynjolf.

"Vex, no, not yet, just hang on...We don't know where Mercer is, as you know, he left with the Lass a few days ago...but, I don't believe that Mercer killed her."

"He did! He left her to die in a pool of her own blood! I watched him leave!" The jester screamed at Brynjolf, pointing his dagger at the man. Bynjolf shook his head.

"Did you see him actually kill her?!" Bynjolf demanded darkly, Cicero opened his mouth then quickly shut it and growled.

"I did not...But, I know your leader killed her! He showed no concern for her when he left the sanctum, I found her dead on the ground!" Cicero yelled back at the thief. The redguard quickly put his hands up, silencing the jester and Brynjolf.

"Nazir, is what this fool saying true? The lass is dead?" Delvin asked the redguard, Nazir looked at Delvin, then nodded.

"We just want to know where your leader is. He must be punished for killing our Listener." Nazir looked at Brynjolf, obviously wanting the blonde man to answer his previous question. Brynjolf just shook his head.

"I don't know...Nor, will I tell you if I would. You have no hard proof that Mercer-" Brynjolf was promptly cut off in midsentence by female's voice from behind the assassins.

"Brynjolf...if I may...I have seen it with my own eyes."

Moving aside, Nazir and Cicero watched as a female dark elf walked up to the nord man, a journal in her hand. For a few seconds, no words were spoken, then finally, Brynjolf spoke only a single word.

"Kharaliah..."


End file.
